No secret will be safe from quantum code breakers

A COMPUTER that doesn't even exist yet is already giving cryptographers sleepless nights.

Encryption experts at Hewlett-Packard's British research lab in Bristol are calling on colleagues around the world to develop systems that will render today's encrypted data immune to code-breaking attacks from quantum computers.

HP researchers Keith Harrison and Bill Munro predict that quantum computers will become a reality within 10 to 15 years. These machines pose a security threat because their ability to perform many calculations at once means they will be able to uncover the encryption keys that are, for practical purposes, uncrackable by today's 'classical' conventional computers.

If that happens, people will be able to tap into private cellphone calls, and secure e-commerce will be a thing of the past. "For ten years things are safe, but in 20 years I'm not so sure," Munro told New Scientist.

Quantum computing engineers are already on the offensive, ...

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